The Lindsey Festival has been very lucky to make some amazing friends over the years, and we must be doing something right because they keep coming back for more! One of our dear friends, she’s really more like family now, is Ms. Natalie Canerday, star of stage and screen and, as she will proudly tell you, a native of “God’s Country (a.k.a. Russellville, Arkansas). Natalie will be making her way to Florence from “God’s Country’ to join us for the festival where she will MC this year’s awards show on Saturday, March 2.Natalie kind of proves those theories about how small the world actually is. She was first introduced to the festival by one of our organizers, with whom she had worked as a production assistant in their very early days in the business. But Natalie had other ties to our area as well; she played Linda Wheatley, the mother of Lucas Black’s character in Sling Blade. She met up with the North Alabama actor again in 2008 when the Lindsey Festival staged a Sling Blade Reunion with guest Billy Bob Thornton. Natalie played another mother in another film with North Alabama connections, October Sky, the story of “Rocket Boy” Homer Hickam. When Natalie arrives at the festival next week, it really will feel like a family reunion, only a little different because it’s open to everyone! The reunion kicks off Thursday, March 1, 5 p.m. at FloBama Music Hall on Court Street in downtown Florence. We hope it’s a big one!